Inexplicably Intertwined
by Adumbledore
Summary: In an alternate universe where you have the name of your nemesis written on one wrist and your soulmate on the other, with no indication of which is which, James Potter, Severus Snape, and Lily Evans all have each others' names on their wrists. As they make their way through their Hogwarts years, their relationships begin to change, and no one is left certain oftheir names meaning
1. Chapter 1

It was Petunia who first told Lily the names on her wrists. Tuney had just learned to read, a skill of which Lily was incredibly jealous. But when she had walked into her room after they both had been put to bed and offered to read the names on her wrists, she had forgotten her envy immediately. Tuney had pulled out a flashlight and bit her lip in concentration.

"J-Jamis Pot-ter an'... an' Sev-i-rus Snappy" They had collapsed into giggles at the ridiculousness of the "names" and began to whisper about what their soulmates might be like. Petunia's was big and strong and very handsome, almost as handsome as their dad. They would go on great adventures, all the way to Paris and maybe even New York. They would eat croissants and drink tea and be merry all the time and Tuney would have a maid to do all the housework for her.

Lily's was, of course, the secret son of Prince Charles who would one day make her the Queen of England. She would have a lovely big wedding in London and take pictures with the queen and everyone everywhere would be in attendance and if they absolutely couldn't, they could watch on TV. She would be at least 25, and he would be a few years older, she couldn't get married _too_ young, but of course she couldn't look old and wrinkly either. From then on she would be the centre of everyone's attention and on the cover of all the magazines and everyone would want to dress like her and look like her all the time.

Of course, everyone would know Tuney as well, for being the princess' sister, for being pretty, for her wonderful clothes. Lily would give Tuney a whole wing of the castle so that they could be close, but of course Tuney would spend most of her time travelling. When she was in England though, they would go everywhere together, the beautiful princess and her beautiful socialite sister, and everyone would part to let them go through. Sometimes Lily would go on her adventures with her and the pictures would be all over the news- _the Evans sisters in Africa, the Evans sisters in India, the Evans sisters travel the world._ They would be elegant and extravagant and wouldn't go anywhere without pearls and dresses and updos and big sunglasses, but they would never wear any furs. When Lily became the queen she would make it illegal to ever wear any animal furs, and until then they would run a charity against animal cruelty.

They liked to speculate, and in the coming months they would be actresses and ballerinas and billionaires and artists. They were secretly fairies, and their soulmates were going to find them and take them back to fairyland. Back to fairyland together, of course. There was no future in which they were separate.

"Tuney, Tuney, watch!" Lily took a running jump from the top of the playground and her sister screamed. But instead of crashing to the ground, she floated down, giggling and laughing, like an umbrella-less Mary Poppins. "We _are_ fairies! Now you try!" Eagerly, Petunia climbed up to the top. She was much less confident once she arrived.

"I'm scared!" She called down.

"Hurry! Hurry! The butterflies will help you fly!" Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Petunia ran off the edge of the platform. It took a few seconds for her to realize she wasn't going to fly. Not like Lily did. She was going to crash down to the ground.

She couldn't find a way to explain why she had done what she did to her mom, or to the doctor taking the x-ray of her arm.

"Lily did it! It worked for Lily!"

"Lily, did you jump off the playground?" Lily, lower lip trembling, nodded. Their mother sighed. "Then you got _very_ lucky. But don't either of you ever, _ever_ do that again. Okay?"


	2. Chapter 2

Severus came from a home where the names on your wrists meant nothing. In theory, yes, he knew what they were supposed to be your soulmate and your worst enemy. But his father, who got drunk and swung his fists far too often, had never opened up about his names. And his mother's, he knew. His mother's read Tobias Snape and Alex Trudescu. He often thought perhaps this was the curse of it all. Everyone wondered about it. Suppose you chose wrong, suppose you ended up married to your worst enemy, subject to their every whim, an easy victim. Everyone wondered but Severus. Hiding under his bed day after day, it was his reality.

To get away from it all he spent much of his time in the park, sitting and thinking. He liked to watch the other children, the muggles with friends and families, playing. He was a scientist, an anthropologist, always watching, observing.

"Would you like to come play with us?" He was shocked. For all the hours at the park, no one had invited him to join in before. Two girls stood before him, a redhead and a brunette, each's smile as bright and inviting as the other's. He stood up.

"Sure! I'm Severus Snape"

"I'm Petunia Evans, and this is my sister Lily." He stared at Lily Evans, and she stared back, awestruck and connected. Slowly, and all at once, they rolled up their sleeves to reveal the other's name there, bold and black. Petunia's smile had faded.

"We're playing kick the can, if you want to join" She said abruptly, turned on her heel and walked away. Lily gave a shy little smile.

"Let's go"

He saw Lily nearly every day after that, and watched as she and Petunia grew less and less fond of each other.

"Tuney!" She would yell day after day, month after month. "Tuney, wait! Tuney, please!" It made him sick. It delighted him to discover she was a witch, and delighted him even more to discover they shared a mutual nemesis in someone named James Potter. It was a source of much debate through the years as they grew up. Which of their names were on his wrist? He was both of their worst enemies, but which of them was his?

"It's me, of course it is! I pose the biggest threat" eleven year old Severus Snape frowned.

"How are you a bigger threat than me?" She stuck her tongue out and gave a lopsided grin.

"Be _cause_ , I'm bigger." She had had a growth spurt in the past few months, and was now several inches taller than him. When he asked her why she had to mention it so often, it was that same crooked smile.

"Because, I'm _holding it over your head_ "


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: Please review!**

When Fleamont and Euphemia finally had their baby, their darling baby boy James, the first thing they did, like so many new parents, was flip over his wrists to read the names of two other babies, with whom his fate would be so intertwined. They had to squint to read it, the writing small and compressed like that on a deflated balloon. But with careful scrutiny, they deciphered the two names, the names of a boy and a girl. _Lily Evans. Severus Snape._

James grew older and, for most of his pre-Hogwarts life, his only company was his two aging parents. Often, he complained that all this time with them was inhibiting him from meeting them. They just laughed at that ruffling his hair. It immediately sprung back into position perfectly. In those days, he could be coerced into putting his father's Sleekeazy's hair potion.

"You'll have plenty of time to meet them when you get bigger." It was the source of most of his excitement, beyond learning to fly and play quidditch. Almost every day when he woke up, he would ask Euphemia,

"Do you think I'll meet one of them today?", and every day she would smile back and answer untruthfully,

"Maybe!"

On September 1, 1971, she entered his room to wake him up, only to find him wide awake, nearly vibrating with anticipation.

"Good morning!"  
"Good morning, Mum. Do you think I'll meet one of them today?"

"Maybe." The words were practiced, said thousands of times in the last eleven years, but this time, for the first time, she meant it.

James made no complaint in eating all his eggs before he was allowed a pastry. He ran upstairs to brush his teeth and even put the potion in himself, no coaxing necessary. Fleamont and Euphemia sat at their breakfast table, listening to the sound of their son running down the stairs with his trunk at top speed, _thump thump thump_ ing down for sixteen floors. He slid to a halt in front of them, out of breath but grinning.

"Let's go let's go let's go!" He exclaimed, all in one breath.

"Not so fast. Where's your broomstick?" He looked at them innocently.

"In the broomshed" Fleamont nodded.

"Accio Silver Arrow" There was a thump as James' trunk flew open and the broomstick landed in his father's hand. "Right." James had the good grace to look at least mildly sheepish.

He was disappointed when he got on the train and sat down next to a boy whose name was not Severus Snape. He'd have liked to have met his worst enemy then and there. The boy, named Sirius, seemed to be worth talking to anyways, and James was quickly so enthralled with their conversation that he did not even notice the others in their compartment. At one point, he vaguely noticed that the girl was crying, but payed her no attention.

"You'd better be in Slytherin" The boy said, and that snatched him out of his own self absorption.

"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He asked Sirius, who looked a bit ashamed.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin" James was taken aback.

"Blimey! And I thought you seemed alright!"

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" He lifted an imaginary sword and pretended to slay a dragon.

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!" The boy with the greasy hair coughed slightly, hiding laughter, and James was irritated. "Got a problem with that?"

"No. If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-" Before James could even think of a response, Sirius beat him to it.

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" He burst out into laughter at the wit of his new friend, but the girl was glaring at them.

"Come on Severus, let's find another compartment"

"Oohhhh, come on Snivellus" Sirius mocked her pompousness, and James forced himself to laugh. But here was a boy named Severus, an uncommon name. Was this Severus Snape? Or was it all just a cruel coincidence?

It was indeed Severus Snape, as he found out at the sorting, and more than that, the girl that he had ignored and offended was Lily Evans. It was most of his first letter home. He talked for a bit about the ghosts, the food, the classes, the excitement, the pride of Gryffindor, but _you know all of that_ , he wrote. _What's truly exciting is that I've met them both, and on my very first day. Lily Evans is in Gryffindor and she's_ _very_ _smart, and Severus Snape is an obnoxious Slytherin with greasy hair._

He had his ears pricked from the Sorting on for any mention, any rumour that might give him more information on either of them (but mainly Lily, of course). He didn't hear what he wanted to hear. He heard that they were best friends, his soulmate and his nemesis, and that he had been the first to introduce her to the magical world. And that they were soulmates. Once he even heard sixth years talking about it. How cute it was, how young they were to have found each other.

He always wore longsleeves.


End file.
